Tag: California Golden Bears

Cal builds a wall late, holds off No. 23 Oregon for first win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Waiting until December 5 to win for the first time proved agonizing for the Cal Bears.

But for coach Justin Wilcox not having his club repeat its litany of mistakes suffered against Stanford was especially satisfying, as the Bears held on to beat No. 23 Oregon 21-17 Saturday night.

“We felt like in the last couple of weeks for much of the game we played well enough to win,” Wilcox said. “Just made too many mistakes. We were not perfect tonight by any means, but really proud of hard the guys played and that’s a result of practice and preparation.”

Nikko Remiglio’s 28-yard touchdown catch ended up as the game’s winning play and the only score of the second half as the Bears prevented the Ducks from grabbing the lead on three possessions in the fourth quarter. Both teams missed opportunities to seize control in the second half as defense took over on both sides after halftime.

Oregon overcame a lackluster first half by striking for a pair of touchdowns in the final 2:08 before the break to wipe out Cal’s 14-3 lead. Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough hooked up with Travis Dye for a 67-yard pass play which set up Cyrus Habibi-Likio’s one-yard touchdown run two plays later to cap Oregon’s rally that took just 90 seconds in game time to complete.

But the second half saw the Bears contain Shough for the most part, followed by a pair of costly turnovers in the game’s final minutes. Cal’s Kuony Deng jarred the ball loose from Oregon’s Johnny Johnson II at Cal’s 38-yard line with 52 seconds remaining to exhaust the Ducks final push.

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal saw his Ducks lose in a similar manner to Oregon State last week as mistakes late cost his club its national and Pac-12 title hopes.

“Self-inflicted issues. And just not generating any type of points in the second half. Stopping ourselves on drives,” Cristobal said. “Just coming up short. Not good enough.”

Chase Garbers finished 20 of 32 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown as the Bears overcame a lack of success running the ball with Oregon holding them under 100 yards rushing. Ironically, the touchdown pass to Remiglio came on play action with Garbers elaborate hiding off the football allowing his receiver to work himself open at the goal line behind the pinching Ducks’ linebackers.

The Bears still have slim postseason hopes with a trip to Pullman up next to face Washington State on Saturday. The Bears would need to win out and find a compatible bowl in a landscape where several have already been canceled due to COVID-19.

“It’s a good thing any time we have some success and then are able to parlay that into more opportunities to play,” Wilcox said.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Golden Bears looking for that first win; Face Oregon Saturday night

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers prepares to throw against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first half of Sep 27, 2019 game at Cal. Garbers and the Bears host the Oregon Ducks this Sat Dec 5, 2020 at Berkeley (AP News file photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Michael:

#1 The Cal Bears (0-3) play their fourth game of the season at Berkeley against the Oregon Ducks (3-1) on Saturday at 4:00pm  Oregon a tough team to play against and the Bears are badly looking for their first win.

#2 The Bears just missed a close game last week to the Stanford Cardinal 24-23 when Cal kicker Dario Longhetto had a blocked kick on an extra point which turned out to be the difference maker.

#3 It wasn’t a win but talk about Cal quarterback Chase Garber who threw for 151 yards, two touchdowns, and in a game where every scored counted and those two touchdowns were vital even in the loss.

#4 Garbers certainly would like to convert some more offense from his running backs and receivers. Running back Christopher Brown Jr carried for 26 yards and receiver Kekoa Crawford ran for 52 yards and had a touchdown.

#5 The Bears next opponents the Ducks (3-1) had a four game win streak until they faced the Oregon State Beavers (2-2) last Friday in a 41-38 loss. The Ducks quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.

Join Michael Fridays for the Cal Bears podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Arizona State holds off Cal, 70-62 in Pac-12 opener

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Coach Mark Fox gave an honest opinion in handicapping his Bears’ assignment against high-scoring Arizona State saying, “we’re going to have to overachieve.”

Fox got his wish, with Cal playing above its current abilities and pushing the Sun Devils to the limit. But that effort wasn’t quite at the level needed to pull a significant, early season upset.

Senior Remy Martin led ASU with 22 points, five assists and the Bears went the final 2:11 scoreless, falling 70-62 at Haas Pavilion. The Pac-12 opener for both teams saw the Sun Devils maintain a slim lead throughout the game’s final 21 minutes after Cal led for the final time, 34-31 just before halftime.

Matt Bradley led Cal with 20 points, but missed 14 shot attempts as Cal’s offense never got dialed in despite a significant edge on the glass providing additional opportunities.

The Bears shot just 40 percent from the floor and committed 20 turnovers. That and a quiet night from the Cal bench (6 points) marked the line between Fox’s desired overachievement and something decidedly less.

The Golden Bears (2-2, 0-1) travel to UCLA on Sunday afternoon knowing their glaring needs of better ball movement and a consistent, secondary scorer are clearly discernable for their opponent. The Bruins exploited both issues in Cal’s worst offensive effort of last season, also at Pauley Pavilion.

While transfers Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman have been capable starters and shooters, returning Bears Joel Brown, Andre Kelly, Lars Thiemann and Grant Anticevich haven’t had representative games in any of the four contests to date. Anticevich is 3 of 16 from distance thus far with Fox saying shooting improvement from distance should come quickly for his senior forward and Bradley as well.

The Sun Devils got 14 points, three rebounds from their highest rated recruit in program history, Josh Christopher, the younger brother of former Cal star Patrick Christopher.

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Duca: Stanford just edges Cal in a game no one gave an inch

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The Cal Bears linebacker Kuony Deng (8) led the Bears with 14 tackles against the Stanford Cardinal on Fri Nov 27, 2020 (calbears.com photo)

On the Cal Bears football podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael, one thing you could say about that first half of the Big Game all indications was that this was going to be tight game no team was giving in. Cal (0-3) and Stanford (1-2) finished the first half to a 10-10 tie.

#2 Michael, in the second half it was very unfortunate for Cal time just ran out as the Bears picked up a touchdown in the third quarter and one in the fourth but the kicker  Stanford scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to edge Cal by one point.

#3 Stanford quarterback Davis Mills threw for 205 yards and one touchdown talk about the job he did and how the Cardinal offense performed against the Bears.

#4 Cal quarterback Chase Garbers looked like he had a good afternoon under center in spite of the loss throwing for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

#5 Oregon comes to Cal for the next home game next Sat Dec 5th at Memorial Stadium. The Ducks have won four straight games and have been a worthy opponent in the Pac 12.

Michael Duca filled in for Morris Phillips for the Cal Bears podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blocked extra point leaves Cal winless, and without the Axe

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By Morris Phillips

How could a blocked extra point be so costly?

For star-crossed Cal, it was just that: no overtime, no win over Stanford, no Axe and likely no postseason.

With under four-and-a-half minutes remaining, the Bears moved smartly and quickly down field culminating with Christopher Brown Jr.’s 3-yard touchdown to pull the Bears within 24-23 pending the extra point. But with 58 seconds remaining, Dario Longhetto’s kick was blocked, leaving Cal agonizingly short.

“We had multiple opportunities to win the game but we didn’t get it done,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “We can’t sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to own it, starting with me. We have to coach better and individually have to own up to what we didn’t do well enough to win the game.”

Wilcox hinted at other problems, not just the blocked kick. There were several–a muffed punt, a blocked field goal attempt before the half, and two critical deficits, 17-10 and 24-17 with time running short–leading the Bears to a tough loss without any wins.

The Bears got another gritty effort from Chase Garbers, and a 121-yard rushing effort from true freshman Damien Moore. But missing three starters on the offensive line prevented the Bears from seizing momentum and keeping it. No consecutive scores and miscues kept the Bears locked in a close game.

Stanford–absent of the edge in physicality that propelled them to eight, consecutive wins in the series prior to last season–simply followed Cal’s miscues with opportunism.

Bears’ late rally falls short in season-opening loss to Oregon State, 71-63

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By Morris Phillips

A sluggish start doomed the Cal Bears in their much-anticipated season opener against Oregon State.

After trailing by five at the half–and as many as 14 in the second half–the Bears’ late rally came up short in a 71-63 loss at Corvallis. Cal gets a quick turnaround with Northwest University up next at 3pm on Thursday also at Gill Coliseum.

The Bears and Beavers agreed to play each other in a rare non-conference matchup between Pac-12 foes just 48 hours earlier when Cal’s scheduled opponent, Colorado State was forced to withdraw from the multi-team event due to Coronavirus issues.

The Bears may have had a couple of more returning players than did OSU, but the Beavers had the more impactful newcomers as they controlled the glass and displayed better shot selection in a game the home team led throughout. Senior guard Ethan Thompson led OSU with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Nicholls transfer Warith Alatishe contributed 16 points to help Oregon State hold off Cal, who climbed within 67-62 with a 1:30 remaining but could get no closer.

The Bears got 21 points from Matt Bradley, who led Cal despite missing 11 of his 16 shot attempts from the floor. Transfer guard Makale Foreman was the only other Bear in double digits with 10.

Cal ran into trouble early, falling behind 10-4 on their way to missing 18 of their 30 field goal attempts before halftime. The Bears ran into more problems in the second half by shooting threes in an attempt to get back in the game, but missed 11 of 14.

The Beavers controlled the glass 43-32 to make up for their subpar 44 percent shooting. Reserve Rodrique Andela grabbed 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench. Jarod Lucas was OSU’s other bench contributor with 11 points in 24 minutes.

Freshman Monty Bowser and graduate transfer Ryan Betley made their Cal debuts with Betley starting and scoring nine points.

The two schools hadn’t met as non-conference opponents since the 1987 NIT. Prior to that they met in a regular season contest at the Far West Classic in Portland in 1984.

The Bears and Beavers will meet again on January 2 and February 25 in Berkeley. They split last season with each team winning at home.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Big Game at Cal has Stanford and Bears looking for that first win

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Oregon State Beavers quarterback Tristan Gebbia keeps a one yard rush for the go ahead touchdown with just 4:30 left in the game against the Cal Bears at Corvallis at the Oregon State University on Sat Nov 21, 2020 (Oregonian/OregonLive photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 It was a game that got away from the Cal Bears (0-2) in the fourth quarter the  Oregon State Beavers (1-2) had a lead after Jake Tonges scored on a two yard pass from quarterback Chase Garbers at 8:04 remaining for a 27-24 lead over the Beavers.

#2 The Beavers got back with 4:30 left in the ball game when quarterback Tristan Gebbia took a one yard keeper into the end zone for a Beavers 31-27 lead and eventual win.

# 3 After losing in UCLA last week to the Bruins this one had to be hard to take as well dropping to 0-2 and such a hard effort against a team like the Beavers only to lose it in the end for Cal?

#4 Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers threw a good enough game to win with 315 yards and three touchdowns but as the Bears know turnovers will hurt you and Garbers was intercepted twice by the Beavers in this one.

#5 Like the Stanford Cardinal (0-2) the Bears have played on two games and had two games canceled. The Big Game is scheduled for this Fri Nov 27th at Cal Memorial and for both teams a critical game to get in the win column as both are looking for that first win and also trying to avoid a third cancelation as Covid outbreaks have been rampant in the Pac 12.

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Duca: Cal heads to Oregon State in what might be their best chance for a win

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The Cal Bears Camryn Bynum far right celebrates after an interception thrown from UCLA Bruins Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the first half on Sun Nov 15, 2020 at UCLA (AP News photo)

Cal Bears Football podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael in looking at last week’s loss to UCLA was it a matter of the change from preparing from ASU to UCLA on the fly after it was reported that ASU had multiple Coivd-19 cases and preparation for UCLA threw Cal off?

#2 The loss was reflective in the first half where the Bruins took a 27-1o lead an indicator Cal’s defense had a hard time getting tracked.

#3 UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson had time to throw against the Cal defense 196 yards, three touchdowns including a quarterback keeper.

#4 The Bruins executed a ground game that saw running back Brittan Brown carry for 71 yards and one score and Demetric Felton carry for 107 yards.

#5 Cal (0-1) face the Oregon State Beavers (0-2) at OSU. The Beavers have lost two tough games against Washington State University and the Washington Huskies. Cal is looking to get in the win column do you see this as Cal’s best chance to get a win?

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears finally play their first game and get trounced by UCLA

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UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) takes a leap of faith over Cal Bears cornerback Josh Drayden (20) as the Bears Evan Tattersall (54) watches the play in the first half at UCLA on Sun Nov 15, 2020 (AP News photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Morris, the UCLA Bruins (1-1) on Sunday didn’t waste anytime jumping on the Cal Bears (0-1) at the Rose Bowl taking a 27-10 lead to get things started in the first half.

#2 Lots of defense from both teams in the second half where UCLA was the only team who scored in the fourth quarter a touchdown as the Bears get trounced in the opener 34-10.

#3 Morris, would you say a lot of this game loss for Cal had to be attributed to all the schedule changes the Bears had to go through they started out the week not even knowing how to prepare for a game at ASU that might not be played, then it was canceled once they got to ASU and were told on Friday night to get to Los Angeles for a Sunday morning game against UCLA.

#4 As tough as the loss was for Cal how important is it for the Bears to at least to have got this first game in the books considering all the changes and preparation they put into practicing this week.

#5 The Bears play their second straight road game this time next Sat Nov 21st at Oregon State (0-2). The Beavers took a close loss against the Washington Huskies (1-0) 27-21 at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Saturday. The Beavers and Huskies played to a narrow margin in the first half with the Huskies taking the half time lead 24-21. The second half was all defense with UW getting the only score in the half with a field goal and a 27-21 final. Morris set up the Cal Bears at OSU for this Saturday.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Bruins defeat Cal in rare Sunday morning football battle 34-10

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers gets into the end zone by just a corner’s worth in the first half against the UCLA Bruins on Sunday morning Nov 15th at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, November 15, 2020

California spent its week preparing for a Pac-12 football game against Arizona State. The coronavirus pandemic provided the Golden Bears with a detour to Pasadena instead.

For their Pac-12 opener, the Golden Bears found themselves playing UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Sunday morning instead of facing ASU at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday. UCLA romped past Cal 34-10.

The abrupt scheduling change was made due to COVID-19 issues at Arizona State, where a number of players and coaches, including head coach Herm Edwards, tested positive. The Sun Devils were unable to meet the conference minimum of 53 players in uniform.

The win evened the Bruins’ record at 1-1. Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw touchdown passes to Charles Njoku, Kyle Phillips and Chase Cota while completing 14 of 26 passes for 196 yards and one interception. Thompson-Robinson also ran for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Demetric Felton led UCLA with 107 rushing yards on 25 carries, and Brittain Brown added 71 yards and a touchdown. Greg Dulcich led the Bruins with three receptions for 80 yards.

The UCLA defense held the Bears to 54 rushing yards and 122 yards passing. Chase Garbers completed 18 of 33 passes with an interception and was sacked five times. Christopher Brown Jr. was Cal’s top rusher with 25 yards on eight carries.

Cal (0-1) opened the scoring at 11:28 of the first quarter with a Dario Longhetto 31-yard field goal. From there, it was all Bruins.

Thompson-Robinson’s 2-yard touchdown with just over a minute to play in the opening period put UCLA ahead to stay at 7-3. A 27-yard TD pass from Thompson-Robinson to Njoku extended the Bruins’ lead to 14-3.

Cal closed the gap to 14-10 on Garbers’ 8-yard touchdown run with 7:24 to play in the second quarter, but the Bruins responded with touchdown passes from Thompson-Robinson to Cota (6 yards) and Phillips (5 yards), giving UCLA a 27-10 halftime lead.

Brown’s 31-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter gave Cal a 24-point lead.

Cal travels to Oregon State (0-2) next Saturday.